polymods: (Default)
polymods ([personal profile] polymods) wrote in [community profile] polylogs2021-05-01 03:00 pm

Destination: Carcosa

POLYMYTHOS: CARCOSA

Carcosa


Ⅰ. THE TEMPLE
You can read all about your character's arrival in the game lore.
The island's harbour is full of other ships, although not a single one of them seems to actually have a human being aboard. (You could certainly try to steal one, but doing so is an exercise in futility - you will find that even if you set off into the ocean you will wind up right back in the harbour again after spending a few hours lost in the fog.) Beyond the harbour is a glittering city of glass and gold. Curving arches and sharp geometric lines are the hallmarks of the architecture - an art deco paradise that whispers of decadence and hope for the future.

The people who crowd the streets wear suits and hats, drop-waist dresses and furs. Their faces are all blank smiles. It's the roaring twenties, darling, why do you look so concerned?

If it is your first experience of the Endless Isles, you have access to the High Temple. Should you wish, you may also seek out the island's own temple as well, which is located inside the city, in a district mostly forgotten by the residents. Don’t worry - your feet will carry you there.

The building is not large, and it is old and neglected. It has a domed ceiling, with panels of glass crisscrossed with metal painted gold curving upward. Whatever fine pattern may have formed there is lost to time; the glass at the centerpoint of the dome is gone, letting in the smell of the sea.

There are rooms equipped with beds spreading out like a spiderweb from the middle of the building. The temple proper is of course in the exact center, below the broken dome. In the middle of this circular room you will find dead branches gathered together to make a vaguely humanoid shape. This crude figure has been haphazardly painted yellow. A slab of concrete sits in front of it. There is not much to explore here; it is very quiet.

Either temple is a good place to simply rest, or meet some of your fellow Travelers. The High Temple of course has the Temple Chef and its usual Guardians, Flock, and Lantern.

The Island Temple has its own Guardians, which are small, pale humanoids with perfectly blank faces and small antlers like young deer. They will leave you alone unless you try to meddle with the central room. Doing so will result in one of them approaching you, and you will find yourself falling unconscious on the floor.



Ⅱ. THE MASQUERADE
Through happenstance, you find yourself in an enormous ballroom. Low couches are dotted everywhere, and a live band plays somewhere at the end of the massive space. A long bar takes up one side of the room, bottles sparkling under the light cast from the many cut-glass chandeliers hanging overhead. Champagne flows freely, and the scent of gin pervades the air.

All of the attendees are wearing masks.

You're dressed for the occasion, of course - you will find yourself wearing something reminiscent of 1920s America, with a small yellow sigil of some sort pinned to your breast. Ask any of the guests about it and they will tell you, "ah, it's a secret." You too, of course, are wearing a mask. You did not pick this mask, but if you look in the mirror hung over the bar you will find that it nonetheless hints at some aspect of your personality.

Which would be all well and good, except that you can't take the bloody thing off.

Moving around the ballroom, you will discover that a few other people also have the yellow sigil pinned to their clothing. It probably shouldn't surprise you that these people are all other Travelers, equally unable to take their mask off.

No, you can't unmask until you share something with your new-found friend: a secret. A REAL one, the sort you'd never speak aloud.

Of course, you can choose not to share. If you choose that route, however, you'll find that the mask is fusing with your skin. Leave it on past midnight when the cries of "UNMASK! UNMASK!" begin, and it will simply become your new face for the duration of the month.



Ⅲ. THE PLAY
Maybe parties aren't your style. No fear, there's plenty more to do and see in such a wondrous city. There's a theatre - the Meliora Grand as a matter of fact - and perhaps you're just the sort of person who would like to take in the arts.

The theatre has plush seats, and fabulous electric sconces lining the wall. Once you take your seat you'll find yourself looking at the stage, where a blood-red velvet curtain hangs. The theatre doesn't seem to fill up - indeed, it really seems that there's only you and one or two other people there. Curious.


The lights go down and the curtain is drawn open, revealing... well. Not much.

There are two chairs on the stage, a table between them. On the table lays a pallid face: a mask. Just a mask. Why not go on up and take a closer look?

Should you choose to touch the mask, you will feel a deep urge to speak to whoever else is in the theatre. You will, in fact, feel the desire to act out some sort of emotional trauma with them. Perhaps they suddenly look like your mother, your father, a lover who left you. Why don't you tell them how you really feel?

Naturally, you can both just sit in awkward silence instead. You'll be waiting until the morning to be let out, if that's the case.



Ⅳ. LOST CARCOSA
CW: the undead.
You find yourself walking along the beach at night. Along the shore the cloud-waves break, and black stars rise above you.

You can't quite pinpoint when you realise you are no longer alone. Maybe there is only one other person on the beach with you, or perhaps a few; you move as one down the expanse of sand until you realise there is something laying up ahead of you.

There is a heap of yellow cloth there, dry and tattered with age. It smells faintly of spices. Nestled among it is a jewel-encrusted human skull. Its empty sockets compel you to sit down in the cool, bone-white sand, to sit and speak to those around you about loss.

Everyone has lost something important to them. A person, a thing, a place, an aspect of the self. Something that's gone and you're never getting back. The skull grins endlessly, endlessly, encouraging you to speak about something you may not have laid to rest.

You can resist this compulsion. Maybe you were never good at sharing. Refuse the skull's silent request and you may continue down along the beach, or perhaps head back the way you came. As you walk, however, you will notice that there is a fog rolling in. It comes in off the sea/sky, obscuring the beach until you can barely see.

It's a terribly handy cover for the corpses that are shambling out of the surf. Wet, bloated, with eyes that glow a dim gold, they head for you silently. They wish to drag you back with them, into the depths. Better hope you can outrun or outfight them.

Bonus: What's that? You want a Carcosa playlist? You've got it, babes!


Network · Logs · OOC · Memes · Plurk

incelligent: (15)

[personal profile] incelligent 2021-05-08 02:35 am (UTC)(link)
[At that, Simon shows a sliver of something that he hardly ever does. Not without rules and etiquette, numbers and scores, and some pompous boasting-]

Because sometimes it just takes a little while.

[But this place is just so different.

There is nothing here, no way to score yourself, except for these infernal colors. And, if that's the name of the game, Simon and Loki are in the same boat.
]

Sometimes it might even require a hop, skip, and a jump to a whole other universe. Maybe it's a magical train with an infinite number of cars and talking animals, or some weird old timey island...

But, we're all here, right?

[He doesn't share the specifics, but for anyone to want so desperately to stay on the train... Simon's childhood couldn't have been good. In fact, there's a likelihood that just like Simon himself, it too was downright despicable.]

I think you just need to be ready for it when the time comes. Whenever that is.
dothelokimotion: (Your life cannot unravel)

[personal profile] dothelokimotion 2021-05-08 03:05 am (UTC)(link)
[ he's not sure he can be ready. would ever be ready. but what is loki, if not adaptable? all he had to do was fit himself into a new mould. to be whatever this place needs to him to be to survive and move on. because he can't go home.

he sucks in a quick breath. ]


We shall see.
incelligent: (105)

im CRYING ALKSDJF ASKDFJ

[personal profile] incelligent 2021-05-08 03:39 am (UTC)(link)
[Simon's face twitches and contorts into various configurations, in contrast to Loki's still expression.]

Yeah, I guess we will. Or, shall.

[Oddly enough, this exchange helped. It's alleviated some of his fears for now. If anything, it's comforting to know that magicky types who have been alive for centuries can be equally as emotionally stunted as um, some traumatized children.]

Thanks for the, uh, whatever that was.

[Conversation...? Somehow that doesn't sound right.]

For what it's worth, I think you've got what it takes to find whoever it is you're lookin' for.

[Wow, that's like, nice??? Like actually, really nice? And he's being honest t-]

This place is chock full of weirdoes. Who's to say one of them can't be yours?
dothelokimotion: (Here's your cuttlefish card)

[personal profile] dothelokimotion 2021-05-08 04:04 am (UTC)(link)
[ the corners of his mouth twitch. he can tell when he's being helped, though obviously loki doesn't believe a whit of it. it's a kindness. sentiment. he won't dismiss it so easily. ]

I think we have more pressing concerns at the moment.

[ he waves a hand, clearing the fog. ]

We should be close to the town now.
incelligent: (99)

[personal profile] incelligent 2021-05-08 04:15 am (UTC)(link)
We might, but I'm not so sure about you.

[The corners of Simon's mouth, in contrast, turn upwards in an earnest gesture. It's clear from his expression that he actually holds some hope for the other man. This place stinks and it's no Infinity Train, but he finds that he isn't all that opposed to making more friends. Simon has only really had one his whole life, after all.]

Guess I'll see ya around?

And, hey, what am I supposed to call you, anyway?
dothelokimotion: (Comfort was the answer to all)

[personal profile] dothelokimotion 2021-05-08 04:36 am (UTC)(link)
[ loki nods. he didn't mind the other's company, all things considered though he might feel differently if simon tries to pry. connections are important to survive. they must be cultivated. ]

Loki will do.
incelligent: (113)

[personal profile] incelligent 2021-05-08 04:54 am (UTC)(link)
Loki? Wait, are you-

[That name is familiar, and suddenly his muscles are tense again.

Loki. God of Mischief. Username-
]

"Tricks?" From the network?

[Simon does recall laughing at a smidgeon of information that had seemed unbelievable to him at the start.]

Whoa, no way.

So you are the real deal.

[Not just a magician, but a god.]

Uhhhh... Whoop...sie?

[S I M O N!!!!!]
dothelokimotion: (A sudden violent movement)

[personal profile] dothelokimotion 2021-05-08 05:03 am (UTC)(link)
[ "some do battle, others do tricks." it is probably a little on the nose, but loki enjoys a play on words. ]

Ah, so it was you. I did wonder.
incelligent: (182)

[personal profile] incelligent 2021-05-08 05:09 am (UTC)(link)
Hey!!!

[Look at this Face. Now he is folding his arms and whimpering disgruntled...ly.]

I could be anybody.

[No. No he couldn't.]
dothelokimotion: (Comfort was the answer to all)

[personal profile] dothelokimotion 2021-05-08 05:19 am (UTC)(link)
[ loki just looks amused. ]

No. I don't think you could be.
incelligent: (189)

[personal profile] incelligent 2021-05-08 06:22 am (UTC)(link)
[And isn't that what Simon has always wanted?

To be remembered, to stand out-
]

Guess this is goodbye then.

[But not like this.]

If I find anything else out, I'll let you know.
dothelokimotion: (The concept of transitioning)

[personal profile] dothelokimotion 2021-05-08 08:43 am (UTC)(link)
[ he inclines his head politely. ]

Farewell. Please do so.